Gold
I currently own a few mid-tier gold miners. If you wanted to gain more direct exposure to the gold price, would you do that through ETFs like GLDN or PMGOLD? Or are there better ways to accomplish this without physically holding the metal?
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Answer
Hi David,
We would advocate adopting a KISS approach and using a ASX-traded gold ETF but there’s now a smorgasbord available all with small nuances around management fees and whether currency movements are hedged.
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Unhedged Gold ETFs: These provide exposure to the gold price and movements in the AUD/USD. VanEck Gold Bullion (NUGG) and Global X Gold Bullion (GXLD) are the cheapest at 0.14% p.a., followed by Perth Mint Gold (PMGOLD) at 0.15%. Global X Physical Gold (GOLD) is the largest and longest-established option, but its 0.40% fee could make it less attractive for very long-term investors.
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Currency-Hedged Gold ETFs: These aim to track the gold price without the impact of AUD/USD movements. Global X Gold Bullion Currency Hedged (GHLD) charges 0.35% p.a., making it a more cost-effective option than BetaShares Gold Bullion Currency Hedged (QAU) at 0.59%.
We currently hold the established $5.65bn GOLD ETF preferring it to the smaller $275mn NUGG and $772mn GXLD.
For comparison in 2026 the correlation between Physical Gold and the GOLD ETF is 0.96, close enough considering the ease to transact.
